1 oz Mermaid Silver Coin

Scottsdale Mint's Pacific-Themed Silver Bullion

The 1 oz Mermaid silver coin is produced by Scottsdale Mint in Arizona and issued as legal tender of Samoa with a face value of 2 Tala. It contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver and belongs to Scottsdale Mint's broader programme of Pacific Island bullion, which uses Samoa as the issuing authority for coins struck at the mint's Scottsdale facility.

The series launched in 2021 with a darker, mythology-heavy mermaid design before shifting in 2022 to the "Princess of the Sea" release, which features an elegant mermaid swimming through a turbulent ocean while holding a string of pearls. The obverse carries the Samoan national coat of arms with the inscription Fa'avae I Le Atua Samoa ("God be the Foundation of Samoa"). Scottsdale Mint's lion hallmark, recognisable across its product range, appears on the coin.

With a BU mintage of 15,000, the Mermaid sits in the semi-numismatic range, well below the millions produced for mass-market sovereign coins like the 1 oz American Silver Eagle but comparable to other themed releases from private mints. The 2022 release also included an antique-finish variant (5,000 pieces) and a serialised colourised variant (2,000 pieces), both packaged in Scottsdale Mint's Certi-Lock tamper-evident capsules. The antique-finish variant commands a noticeable premium on the secondary market due to its lower production run.

The Mermaid is part of a broader trend of US private mints licensing Pacific Island sovereignty for bullion programmes. Samoa, Fiji, Niue, and Tuvalu all serve as issuing authorities for coins manufactured thousands of miles away. For buyers, this means the coin carries genuine legal tender status, which can be relevant for tax treatment in certain jurisdictions, despite being designed and struck in Arizona.

Mermaid Silver Coin Specifications

Available Variants (2022 Release)

The Certi-Lock packaging provides tamper-evident protection, with individual serial numbers on the colourised variant. The coin itself does not carry proprietary anti-counterfeiting features such as Veriscan or latent-image technology, relying instead on the detailed relief work and packaging integrity for authentication.

The 2022 reverse design ("Princess of the Sea") features a mermaid swimming through ocean currents while holding a strand of pearls, framed by an intricate border of seashells. The 2021 first issue used a darker, more mythological aesthetic. The obverse on both years shows the Samoan national coat of arms with the inscription Fa'avae I Le Atua Samoa. The colourised variant applies subtle colour over the mermaid design while retaining the identical obverse and specifications.

Tax Treatment of the Mermaid Silver Coin

As a .999 fine silver coin with legal tender status from a recognised government (Samoa), the Mermaid's tax treatment varies by jurisdiction. Its silver composition means it does not benefit from the investment gold exemptions that apply to gold coins in most countries.

United Kingdom

Silver bullion is subject to 20% VAT on purchase. The Mermaid's status as foreign legal tender does not exempt it from this charge. It is not CGT-exempt because it is not UK legal tender. Pre-owned examples may be available under the margin scheme from certain dealers, reducing the effective VAT to the dealer's profit margin only.

United States

Sales tax treatment varies by state, with approximately 35 states exempting bullion purchases. No IRA eligibility has been confirmed for this series. Capital gains on disposal are taxed at the 28% collectibles rate for holdings over one year.

Canada

Silver coins at .999 purity meet the 99.9% threshold for GST/HST exemption under the Excise Tax Act. The Mermaid should qualify for tax-free purchase in Canada.

Australia

Investment-grade silver requires 99.9% purity for GST exemption. At .999 fine, the Mermaid meets this threshold. Coins must also be in a form commonly traded on commodity markets to qualify.

New Zealand

Silver at 99.9% purity or above is GST-exempt. The Mermaid qualifies at .999 fine. No capital gains tax applies in New Zealand.

Singapore

The Investment Precious Metals (IPM) scheme exempts silver coins at 99.9% purity that are or were legal tender. The Mermaid's Samoan legal tender status supports qualification for GST exemption under the IPM rules.

Hong Kong

No sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax applies to silver bullion in Hong Kong.

Mermaid vs Other Private Mint Silver Coins

The Mermaid occupies a specific niche: themed silver bullion from a US private mint with Pacific Island legal tender status. It competes less with sovereign powerhouses like the 1 oz Silver Maple Leaf or 1 oz Silver Britannia and more with other collector-oriented bullion from private mints.

Against other Scottsdale Mint releases such as the Ghana Alien series (25,000 BU mintage), the Mermaid's 15,000 BU run is tighter, though not dramatically so. Both series use African or Pacific nations as issuing authorities and are struck at the same Arizona facility. The choice between them comes down to design preference rather than any meaningful difference in metal content or investment characteristics.

Compared with sovereign-mint 1 oz silver coins, the Mermaid carries higher premiums but lower mintages. A buyer choosing between the Mermaid and a 1 oz Silver Philharmonic is making a different kind of decision: the Philharmonic offers lower premiums, higher liquidity, and wider dealer recognition, but no collector scarcity. The Mermaid offers a limited production run and distinctive design at the cost of thinner secondary-market liquidity.

The .999 purity is standard across most silver bullion coins, matching the 1 oz Noah's Ark and the Philharmonic. Only the Maple Leaf and a handful of others use .9999 fine silver, a distinction that matters more for tax classification in some jurisdictions than for practical metal content.